Boat mooring device



Feb. 6, 1962 E. L. WOODS 3,019,759

BOAT MOORING DEVICE Filed Oct. 22, 1958 I/VI/E/ VT R- States This invention relates to the mooring of a boat alongside a dock, and more particularly to a small craft mooring device which will prevent damage resulting from water movement.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved, easily detachable, mooring device which will allow the boat freedom to follow the waves, the rise and fall of the tides, and disturbances caused by passing boats, without the usual attendant damage caused from the boat rubbing against the dock.

Another object is to furnish a means to hold the boat safely away from the dock when not in use, but to afford a quick and convenient method for swinging the boat close in to the clock for loading, boarding, or maintenance work.

It is also my purpose to enable the craft to adjust to water movement with complete freedom about the longitudinal axis (roll) and about the lateral axis (pitch), but not about the vertical axis toward the dock (yaw), and at the same time to allow it to rise and fall with the motion of the waves or tides, at all times keeping it from touching the dock.

A further object is to provide a universal connecting device which allows unrestrained movement of the craft in many directions, but which may be rapidly coupled and uncoupled.

Another object is to provide a mooring device which is adjustable to provide for beam width and which is equally adapted for right and left hand mounting.

In carrying out the objects of the invention, I employ a pair of mooring arms having split sockets at the outer ends, which will open to receive spherical studs on the bow and stern of the boat. The mooring arms are pivotally mounted to the dock. A third or bracing arm acts to keep the mooring arms away from the clock. The bracing arm is detachable to allow the boat to swing in to the dock while still attached to the mooring arms.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the boat as moored to a dock using my device.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of my universal quick-coupling connecting device as seen at the bow of the boat.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows the boat in its normal moored position and also as it appears when swung over into its boarding or loading position.

Referring to FIG. 1, the drawing shows a boat 1 moored to a dock or other relatively stationary platform 2 by means of forward and after mooring arms shown generally as 3 and 6 respectively. These mooring arms are similarly constructed except that the forward arm 3, shown on the left, has an additional bracing arm 7 attached to it which is separably connected to the clock 2 to prevent swinging of the arms as will be further described.

The mooring arms 3 and 6 consist of tubular members 3a and 6a, which are of a lesser diameter than and inserted into additional tubular members 3b and 6b and attached thereto by bolts 8. Adjustment of the arm lengths may be accomplished by placing the bolts 8 in the proper adjusting holes 9 which are bored in members 3b and 6b.

The dockward ends of members 3b and 6b are flattened and drilled with single holes to receive rivets 10 through the movable portions 11 of leaf hinges 12, whose fixed portions 13 are secured to the clock by lag screws 3,9 i 9,759 Patented Feb. 6, 1 962 z 14. The rivets 10 are loose in their holes so that the arms 3 and 6 can swing freely in the horizontal plane, the arms also being free to swing in the vertical plane around the hinge pins 15.

Forward tubular member 3a is equipped with a clip 16 at its outermost end, having a projecting flange to which is secured the bracing arm 7 by means of a loosely fitting rivet 17.

Looking now at FIG. 3, the method of attachment of arm 7 to the dock may be seen. Since bracing arm 7 is tubular, it is preferably flattened to form a suitable surface 71') for drilling. The dockward end of arm 7 is secured to the movable portion 11 of another dockattached leaf hinge.

For the purpose of economical construction, it is preferable that this hinge be identical in construction with the previously mentioned leaf hinges. Attachment is provided by means of a removable pin 18. This pin has a flexible enlargement 13a which can be one of several known types to prevent the pin from falling out but which allows the pin to be disengaged by pressure to release arm 7 from its dock connection. The pin '18 may be provided with a lanyard 18b to prevent its loss when arm 7 is detached from the hinge.

Quick coupling split-socket members 19 are attached to the outermost ends of members 3a and 6a by means of rivets 2d. The split sockets, whose operation should be apparent from FIG. 2, embrace the stud members 21 and 22 which are located on the bow and stem of the boat respectively.

Member 21, which can be seen more clearly in FIG. 2, consists of a spherical stud portion 21a, preferably made of heavy guage sheet metal, to which is welded a short rod 21b. The other end of the rod is welded near the center of the top of a trapezoidal-shaped piece of sheet metal 210. The top of the trapezoid aifords a flat welding surface 21d. The sides of the trapezoid are convex looldng from the inner surface in order that a wide variety of bow angles may be accommodated within the sides. Thus member 21 may be used on many different bows without the necessity of bending to fit. Suitable mount, ing holes 21:: are drilled to accommodate fitting screws (not shown).

Member 22, which has a spherical stud portion attached to a rod and which may be seen in FIG. 1, is similar to member 21 except in the manner of attachment to the boat. Here the rod is threaded on the end to receive a pair of nuts, one of which may be seen at 220. These two nuts perform the function of the trapezoidal-shaped member Zic which is at the forward end of the boat. Since the stern board is generally fiat, the nuts can be drawn together on opposite sides to support the extending rod and spherical portion.

As can be seen in FIG. 1, the members 21 and 22 are mounted on the boat near the fore-and-aft axis with the spherical studs extending away from the boat along a horizontal fore-and-aft line. Although after member 22 is preferably placed on the fore-and-aft axis, it may be displaced laterally somewhat for boats having outboard motors in order to avoid the motor mounting, without substantially impairing the effectiveness of the mooring device.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view showing the construction of the quick coupling split-socket member 19. Two oppositely disposed cup-shaped members 23 and 24 are supported by extending upper and lower arms 25 and 26 respectively which are made integral with the cups. The interior contours of the cups are constructed to conform to the size of the spheres on members 21 and 22 previously mentioned. Upper arm 25 widens at the end opposite the cup 23 so that the sides may be bent around to form a tubular section as at 27. Lower arm 26 widens into two ears 28 which are bent up to enclose the sides of tubular section 27, and are held in place by means of a rivet 29 passing through both members. t can be seen that the cups 23 and 24 can open and close, pivoting on the rivet 29.

Between the cups and rivet 29, the arms 25 and 26 are furnished with mating holes which accommodate a rod 36. The upper end of rod 36 has a transversely drilled hole which is aligned with similar holes in the bifurcated end of cam lever 32 and through which passes a pivot pin 31.

The other end of rod 3% is threaded and drilled to receive a cotter pin 33 and a nut 34 in the conventional manner. A compression spring 35 is placed between arms 25 and 26 around rod 3%) so as to urge the pivoted cup members apart.

Cam lever 32 has a cam surface 36 on its lower edge which acts to compress the spring 35 when pressure is applied to cam lever handle 37. The cam surface is shaped so as to apply and maintain an over-center locking force on the pivot pin 31 when the cam lever is in its depressed position. Thus the cups will be locked at their innermost point to embrace the spherical stud portions so as to allow free rotation, but so as to prevent release of the spherical members from between the cups. Release of the spherical members is quickly accomplished by pulling up the cam lever handle 37 and allowing the cups to spread apart. The use of the split-socket device enables the boat to swing into the dock as shown in FiG. 4 without the cups interfering in any way with the supporting substructure of the boat-mounted spherical stud members as would be the case with conventional ball-and-socket connections. Due to the inherent possibility of interference between the forward arm and the boat when the boat is being swung in the forward direction for boarding, it is preferable that the device be mounted as shown in FIG. 4. Reference to the drawing will disclose that the distance between the dock mountings of the arms is greater than the distance between the arms where they are attached to the boat. As the boat is swung into the position shown by the dotted lines, it can readily be seen that the forward arm 3 will swing through a shorter arc than the after arm 6 and that if the dimensions are properly chosen, the forward arm will reverse direction during the course of its travel. The corresponding designation numerals when the boat is in its dock position are represented by prime superscripts on the numerals such as 3, etc.

The fairing of most craft is such that there is a decrease in beam width traveling from the widest point toward the stern. Thus the boat, when swung forward, will end its travel with the after part of the gunwale essentially parallel to the dock, even though the foreand-aft axis now lies at a slight angle with the dock. In such a position, the boat is placed advantageously for maintenance if the craft should happen to have a motor of the outboard type. Even more important, the boat is in a favorable position for safe boarding and loading. Thus it will be apparent that the mooring device described has many advantages in operation that are not found in other small craft mooring devices.

The operation of the device is as follows. When the boat is moored, bracing arm 7 acts to lock the forward arm 3 in position where its only movement can be to swing in a vertical are on the hinge. With the forward arm thus secured, the after arm 6 is also prevented from swinging in a horizontal arc. Thus the forward and after arms can swing up and down, either together or separately as required by the boats movement. The splitsocket members will not impair this movement, since they will allow the boat to pitch. The boat will also be free to roll on its own axis, thus helping to remove any strain imposed on the mooring arms. This gives a built-in stress'reliever which allows the arms to be fabricated of a lighter material than would otherwise be possible.

Removal of the pin 18 will allow the boat to be swung in to the clock as shown in FIG. 4. Now boarding can take place safely since the after gunwale can be held steady against the dock. After boarding has taken place, the after split-socket can be quickly and easily released by pulling up the cam lever handle and disengaging the cups from the stud. The mooring arm may either be folded back and laid along the dock out of the way, or may simply be dropped to hang down into the water from the hinge. The boat is now attached only at the forward end. This is especially convenient in cases where the water is shallow and the boat is equipped with reversing motor. To prevent damage to the screw and yet to retain contact with the dock until the motor is started, the boat stern may be pushed or allowed to drift out into the deeper water while the starting of the motor takes place. Once this has been accomplished, the forward split-socket may be released and the arm allowed to drop down and hang in the water as the boat makes sternway.

Many other advantages should be apparent to those skilled in the art from the fact that the device allows un mooring from the boat without an attendant on the dock. It also should be apparent that the bracing arm could just as easily be attached to the after mooring arm with the same overall results.

It will be understood that my mooring device is capable of many modifications without departing from the scope of the invention, and that changes in form, proportion, and design are not to be considered as such a departure.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A boat mooring device for securing a boat to a stationary structure, comprising first mooring means including a forward mooring arm pivotally attached to said stationary structure and a rigid bracing arm pivotally attached to said forward mooring arm at a point intermediate its ends and extending to the stationary structure at an angle with said forward mooring arm to be removably connected with the stationary structure, second mooring means comprising an after mooring arm pivotally attached to the stationary structure, said forward and after mooring arms being pivotable in both vertical and horizontal planes and having first and second socket means respectively at their outermost ends, a first spherical stud member, a second spherical stud member, said first and second stud members being attached to the forward and after ends of the boat respectively extending horizontally substantially on the fore-and-aft axis of the boat, and first and second coupling means on the first and second socket means respectively to cause the socket means to clasp the stud members, whereby the stud members can rotate freely in the sockets allowing the boat to roll and pitch without substantial strain on the mooring means.

2. A boat mooring device to secure a boat to a stationary structure comprising a forward mooring arm, an after mooring arm, said forward and after mooring arms being pivotally mounted to said stationary structure so as to be free to swing in horizontal and vertical arcs and having socket means at their outermost ends, first and second spherical stud members mounted on said boat, said first and second spherical stud members projecting outwardly from the bow and the stern of the boat substantially horizontally near the fore-and-aft axis, whereby the stud members may be engaged by said socket means to allow the stud members to rotate freely, and a rigid bracing arm pivotally attached to one of said mooring arms intermediate the ends of said mooring arm and extending shorewardly at an angle with the mooring arm to which it is attached, said bracing arm being pivotally attached to the stationary structure and adapted to be easily detached from said stationary structure.

3. A boat mooring device according to claim 2, where each socket means includes opposed cup members defining internal spherical surfaces facing downward, and upward and pivoted upon integral arms, spring means biasing said cup members apart, and cam means to lock the cups in the closed position, whereby the cam means may be operated from the boat to open the cup members.

4. A boat mooring device for securing a boat to a relatively stationary dock structure comprising first mooring means including a first arm pivotally attached to said dock structure and a rigid bracing arm connected to said first arm and extending dockward at an angle with the first arm to be connected pivotally to and easily removable from the dock structure, second mooring means comprising a second arm pivotally attached to the dock structure, said first and second arms being pivotable in both vertical and horizontal planes and having first and second closaole universal socket means respectively at their outermost ends, a first stud member extending horizontally from the bow of the boat and terminating in a substantially spherical portion, a second stud member extending horizontally from the stern of the boat and terminating in a substantially spherical portion, said first and second stud members being mounted substantially on the fore-andaft axis of the boat, whereby minimum transverse movement of the stud members will take place when the boat rolls about its fore-and-aft axis, the spherical portions of the stud members being arranged to freely move universally within said socket means when the socket means are closed, and coupling means to lock the socket means in a closed position, whereby the bracing arm may be removed from the dock structure and the boat swung in while held by the first and second arms with the stud member spherical portions turning in the socket means While they are locked closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 617,142 Brown Jan. 3, 1899 763,380 Eble et al. June 28, 1904 1,094,610 Steinhaver Apr. 28, 1914 2,155,043 Gorskey Apr. 18, 1929 20 2,569,783 Smith ct. 2, 1951 

